Hunting Down A Warlock
by schnabeltier
Summary: Arthur now reigns Camelot as a prince regent and receives important guests. But then a strange man calling himself Emrys threatens to overthrow him and Morgana in Escetia as well. Unfortunately Merlin is not at his best, as he is plagued by dreams.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hey there. :) So this is my first Merlin-Fanfiction and I'm hoping I won't screw the characters up or something like that. And tell me whether you like it or not. I'm craving for feedback. O.O Then I'm always open for any corrections on my grammar too, as I'm not a native speaker and my language is far from perfect, although I'm learning English since nearly eight years.

Also I don't own Merlin or the other characters from the show, no matter how much I wish I did.

**Chapter One**

Impatiently Morgana positioned a strand of hair out of her face. Her light, greenish eyes were starring at her sisters face so hard, as if Morgause was to wake up, if she just looked at her long enough and wished for it hard enough.

Behind the young witch the door of Morgauses chambers opened and Beris, the Queen's hand maiden stepped in. That was, what her sister had called herself, after she had murdered Cenred: Queen. Morgana thought of it with a faint, somewhat bitter smile. Taking control of the dead kings realm had only been a way to secure her own kingship, but somehow she was thrown down now and Morgause still sat on her throne.

Well, she would have done, surely, if she had not been unconscious.

Since Morgana had found her sister lying there on the floor, with Merlin and his father-figure - or whatever Gaius was to him – staring at her lifeless body, there had been no sign of life from Morgause. Except, that the dark-haired witch could feel her sister's life burning in her breast, like a spark of hope. It was still smoldering, deep under the cold, death-like appearance.

Morgana felt Beris touching her shoulder. She sighed heavily and finally spoke out aloud, what had clouded her mind for three months now, since she had won the throne and lost it again. Since then she had spent half of her time at her sisters bed and the other half taking charge of Cenreds realm. "I wish there was any way of making her wake up.", she murmured. Somehow it felt better to say it in the presence of another person, someone who shared her feelings about Morgause. It didn't feel as crazy to hope then.

The lady guessed, that Beris was nodding behind her, as she spoke. "I know, mylady. And I wish the same with all my heart, but you won't ever find a way to heal her majesty, if you don't sleep. You need some rest." Of course, the lady-in-waiting was right and Morgana knew, but somehow she felt scared of going to bed and give herself away to sleep.

The foreboding of a vision had followed her all day. She just knew, that she would give way to the pictures, which waited in the back of her mind, if she took some rest. The witch didn't know exactly what awaited her, she never did, but her visions had never been friendly to her.

Nevertheless her eyes were on the verge of closing themselves without her doing. Beris was right: she was in desperate need of sleep. The whole day long she had dealt with troubles regarding the country her sister had taken control over and then left to her.

But the people would not yield to the new power so easily. Morgana sometimes felt as if she was back in Camelot, trying to make those stupid, ignorant folk see, that she was the good one. Of course, there had been mistakes, mistakes, which should not have happened. There were scarcely men in the country now – they had all died in the attempt to help her rule Camelot.

She sighed again and finally stood up. "You will watch for her?", she asked Beris, but it was more an order really. "And call me, if her condition changes.", she added. The hand maiden nodded and Morgana left the room, as tranquilized as it was possible for her to be in her current situation. She felt tired, weary of all the problems around her and she knew, that fate wouldn't even grant her a good sleep.

Indeed it didn't. But actually the vision wasn't as disturbing, as those like it used to be, or at least it didn't disturb her sleep as much. For someone who would have been standing at her bedside, she would have looked quite peaceful. But her mind was to be troubled very much by this night.

Suddenly she was back in Camelot. She saw herself standing at the window of her room there, as she had always done, watching the dark courtyard below her. It wasn't exactly night but late eve with a hint of the moon between the stars.

Then there was a knock at the door and Morgana saw herself turning around with a broad smile, as if she knew, who was going to be there. The visitor didn't wait for an invitation, he just opened the door, entered the room. It was Merlin.

A wave of intense hate swept though Morganas self, as she was looking at the man, who approached her with one of his goofy smiles on his damn face. Her dream-self clearly felt different. In horror the young sorceress saw herself running to the bloody idiot and falling into his open arms, as he murmured: "We don't have much time." And her dream-self nodded knowingly, adding: "I fear, Uther suspects something."

Morgana wanted to stop this vision more than ever, but she couldn't. It was like running against a wall, when she tried to reach the couple in the middle of the room, not knowing what she would have done, if she would have reached them. But it was impossible for her to keep Merlin from pressing a kiss on her dream-selves ebony hair.

"Come on.", smiled the dream-Morgana, "Give me a real kiss." And in the next moment their lips met with the sorceress staring in horror. But that lasted only for a moment, as she was then drawn into her dream-self and suddenly she felt his lips on hers, gentle and sweet. She heard the little gasp she made, when Merlin opened his lips and made his tongue slip into her mouth, smoothly playing a game with hers, a game like a dance.

When they parted, Morgana felt amazed, shocked, fascinated. He had tasted so good, like rain on a springs day, like a waterfall maybe, like the clear air after the rain. And under all this she felt the feelings of her dream-self. She felt the lips of her dream-self move, when it murmured: "I love you."

And then she felt as if she was falling, falling back into her own body in her own time in her own bed in the Castle of Escetia. She was gasping, sitting there upright an still smelling him, tasting him, sensing his kiss.

In the same moment a servant awoke in his chamber, breathing hard and still feeling the touch of her lips on his mouth, as if kissing her would have been a real thing, and not only a dream. The young man left his bed and opened the window, longing for some fresh air. His name... Merlin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

AN: I'm sorry, that it took me so long, or at least longer than I planned. I ain't quite sure, whether this chapter is so good, but I already have the next one in mind and it will (hopefully) be quite interesting. So please review this one and the first. :)

Arthur swung his sword in a wide movement. It was an unnecessarily wide movement, thought Merlin, suspecting that the prince was only doing this because he knew, that it looked somewhat heroic.

The next moment Arthurs sword was meeting that of Percival. A clash was to be heard, then their weapons parted again, only to meet another time. Both men were sweating, as Percival made another try to break his opponents defense.

To make it short: everything was perfectly boring. Merlin really didn't know, what was so wonderful in these fights, but as he had never been one of these fighters, he probably couldn't know. What was important to him, was that this was not a very interesting thing to look at, especially when you're tired and your eyes threaten to close themselves every moment.

That dream last night had not allowed him to sleep for the rest of the time he used to do so and therefore he had been lying awake, trying to figure out, what the hell it had meant. Kissing Morgana... It had felt simply intoxicating. He had had no control over what he had done in this dream, but once they had begun to kiss it had been so beautiful, that he hadn't even wanted it to end, strange as it was.

Of course, they were enemies. Merlin knew that. She wanted to destroy everything he loved. She was altered so much, but nevertheless... In his dream she had been the old Morgana. Loving and with a smile, that warmed the heart; someone who believed in doing good; someone who stood up against the king to help the innocent. She had been all this again and more. Kissing her...

"Merlin!" Arthurs rude voice called him back into reality. "What are you thinking of?", demanded the prince to know, but he didn't even await the answer. His manservant wouldn't have given him one anyway. Really, what was he to say? 'I was just thinking about how I kissed your evil half-sister in my dream last night.' - That didn't sound so good.

"Come on, we don't have all day's time. King Hengest and his daughter are going to arrive this afternoon and therefore everything has to be perfect!" So now he was responsible for their being late? As if it would have been Merlin, who insisted on spending two ours daily with training his fighting skills.

But the warlock didn't give a sharp response this time. Instead he followed his prince, as he strode with long steps in the direction of the castle. The fortress of Camelot itself had been damaged heavily, when Morgana had had her little... outbreak. She had cried the walls down, literally. Merlin shuddered when he thought of it – and suddenly he was strangely content with his dream about kissing the old Morgana, as strange an idea as it was, instead of dreaming about that magical monster she had become, when she saw her lifeless sister on the ground.

As they approached the castle Gwaine met them, apparently to talk about something with Arthur. Since it had become clear, that King Uther was totally disoriented and unfit to rule, his son had taken control of the kingdom. Everything went on fine: the city and the fortress were being build up, the damages Cenreds men and Morgana had caused were being repaired. And now King Hengest would arrive, the ruler of Powys, who had years ago quarreled so hard with Uther Pendragon, that their kingdoms had been standing on the edge of war.

Of course Arthur would deny, that Hengest was only willing to enter into peace negotiations with Camelot, because Uther didn't rule anymore, but that was the truth nonetheless. And although Merlin was glad, that Arthur led Camelot now, he frowned, when he thought of the old king in his chambers, always being more or less deranged.

The ever-changing condition of his father clearly oppressed Arthur, but what could they do? Gaius treated the king and as long as none of his methods brought more than a slight, temporary effect, his son ruled Camelot. If the people were being honest, they even thought this a very good arragement and apart from Arthur probably nobody wished with all his heart, that the old king would get better soon, although nobody spoke such words of treason out aloud.

One reason for his popularity probably was, that the young prince regent didn't desperately search for sorcerers to kill. But, and Merlin was bitterly aware of this, he would get any witch or warlock executed, of whose guilt he had charge. The law was the law and besides... Arthur had been taught, that magic was bad for so long, that he now believed it, although he had long before the drastic events three months ago begun to criticize his father.

Well, it was a start. And somehow Merlin would try to make his friend realize, that he owned his life to magic many times over.

In the meantime Gwaine was approaching them with fast steps. "King Hengest and his daughter have arrived!", he said, when he was just a few steps away. Arthurs eyes widened. "But they oughtn't be here until dawn!", he answered accusingly, as if it would have been Gwaines fault, that his guest had arrived earlier. The knight just shrugged and followed them, when Arthur went in the direction of the castle, nearly running.

While Merlin was heading for the prince regents chambers to put away the weapons, Arthur and Gwaine made themselves ready to enter the great hall, where the servants had led King Hengest and the Lady Rowenna to. "You're coming with me to welcome them.", Arthur commanded, while he calmed his breath, so that nobody would see, that he had been running.

"I'd rather not.", Gwaine answered with a sudden look of terror in his eyes. "Really, Arthur, that's not a good idea. You look good enough by yourself, you know." But not even this bit of bootlicking helped. In the next moment the doors were opened and all Gwaine could do was hiding behind his prince in a more or less effective way.

Surprisingly it functioned at first. King Hengest was far to anxious to great Arthur to pay him any attention. With Rowenna it was the same. Only her maid stared at him from the first moment, that girl named Meg. He tried to smile in his usual charming way, but he had the feeling, that it didn't work in order.

Now Rowenna was welcomed by Arthur and Gwaine felt how her father pinned him with his gaze. Meanwhile the prince of Camelot took both hands of the princess and kissed them gently, a gesture Rowenna answered with a curtsey. Together they looked like a picture out of some book about courtly suavity.

And still there were so many feelings assailing him, when he saw her. Obviously she didn't feel different, when she finally saw him, as Arthur dragged him to his side, saying: "And this is Sir Gwaine, my second-in-commands attorney." Rowennas jaw instantly dropped. "Gwaine!", she cried with a dominant tone of anger in her voice.

Again Gwaine tried to smile charmingly, but again it didn't work, as it only produced more anger on the princesses face to see his poor efforts. Shit!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **So yes, I finally revised my third chapter and now I'd love you to read and review on it. :) Also I'm sorry for any grammart mistakes you may spot. And I finally promise, that the plot I sumarised does start in the next chapter. ^^ Really, it will.

With thanks to my lovely reviewers.

**Chapter Three**

Alessia concentrated on the stone wall behind her hardly. She really did, mainly because she was linked to it by an iron chain and didn't want to be anymore. But it was useless. Her affinity lay with living things, not with a bloody wall or a chain.

With a sigh she sunk her hands, which she had pressed onto the stones to find anything she could use to get out. Slowly she began to suppose, that the damn witch Morgana or her sister had summoned some curse to keep her from using magic. But she would have felt that, wouldn't she? Also the two of them hopefully didn't know, that she had magic, thinking that she could do nothing more than "seeing" the future in a set of cards or a crystal ball.

At least that had gone right. Their lack of knowledge would be her way to freedom. Also she still knew the castle of Escetia better than Morgana did – she had lived here all her life after all. But the dungeons weren't her territory either and so she was still seeking for a way out, even with her magic.

Briefly Alessia thought of her brother, who had built this part of the prison. It was shocking, even to her, how little she grieved over his death. They had not been very close, but still... _Well, I have other problems right now_, she thought, when she heard some guards approach to her cell.

„Where do you take me?", she asked, trying to stay calm, while the men were opening her chains and took her with bound hands out of the dungeon, up the stairs. Alessia quickly recognized the way, they were taking. She was brpught to the thrown room. The young woman shuddered, but the guards didn't react to it. Now she was near to them, Alessia realized, that one of them actually was a woman. It probably was no wonder, as Morgause had taken nearly all the men with her to Camelot, where their immortality had turned out to be not so safe.

Again she shuddered, when she thought of all those soldiers, who had died back then. But she didn't have the time to reflect upon those people and the weird feeling she had, a feeling of them being her subjects somehow. Instead the doors of the throne room were opened with an unnecessarily impressing "thud!".

Morgana sat on the throne, upright, her lips painted in a bright red, her ebony hair falling down in perfect waves. Both women knew, that she looked simply amazing and Alessia suddenly thought of how ragged she must appear after one month in the dungeon with little chances to wash herself and none to change her dress. _That probably is the purpose of this show_, she thought, being mad at herself for falling for such a trick.

"Ah, Princess Alessia.", Morgana smirked, while she enjoyed her opponents angry look. Morgause had taught her, that hate was some sort of a compliment. It meant you changed people, touched them, made them easier to strike upon. Because when they hated somebody, they would react with their emotions, not with the head. That had been the reason, why her sister had talked to her about hate after all: so that she wouldn't make the same mistake as other people. She would be cool and rational in following her hate.

Meanwhile Alessia had discovered Ansley, who was sitting on the steps to Morganas throne. They had built an impressive looking construct around the old seat Cenred had used. The new lady clearly was skilled in self-presentation. Her prisoner hissed aggressively. "Why so angry, auntie?", Ansley asked with what he thought to be an ironic smirk.

Alessia thought, of how she used to hate it, when Ansley called her "aunt". Now she had different problems, but though... It was not only the fact, that she was only six or seven years his senior. It was the feeling of being old she got, when he called her like that, and yet she had never really lived. She didn't want to be reminded of how old she was for an unmarried woman and of how she had never seen much more than her tower in the castle of Escetia. At least not with her own eyes.

There had always been a raven or a mouse to lend her its eyes to see. But that was not the same thing. She had seen the world. She had observed Cenred, when he dealt with problems regarding his country. She had sighted how Morgause killed him. She had watched with horror when his men headed to Camelot, from where they would never return. But it had always been though the eyes of some inconspicuous animal, whose eyes she had lent herself. It had not been like living in reality.

And she had also observed it, when Ansley disclaimed the crown and gave it to Morgana, who took it, as she said, as an attorney of her sister. Her nephew should have been king, he should have ruled, as he was the nephew of the former king, Cenred, too. But he left his kingdom to those witches. Alessia shuddered with hate. Escetia was a proud country and it was not for sale to any sorceress coming around.

"Have you finally regained your sense, Alessia?", Morgana asked coolly, only to see her opponent straighten herself to shake her head decisively. "Well then", the new regent answered in a tone, which nearly seemed to be happy, "your execution is planned for the day after tomorrow. I suppose you don't have any other appointments." Again Alessia fixed the lady on the throne sharply with her eyes. "Indeed I haven't.", she answered, determined to die with the honor and pride of one, who had true royal blood. She'd show this bastard daughter and her own nephew, what it meant to be of true nobility.

The guards took her to the dungeons again, while Morgana looked at her somewhat sadly. She didn't want to kill Alessia. Of course she was to weak, feeling something like regret at the death of somebody, who opposed her. Morgause would have told her so. But still: She didn't hate the princess, as she hated Uther or Camelot. Also a living Lady Alessia would have been more useful to her.

The people loved that stupid woman. They did so for next to no reason, but nevertheless they probably would have followed her. Or at least some of them. Sometimes she had been standing on a balcony next to her brother, smiling and waving. But the rest of the time she had been shut up in a tower of the castle, where Cenred had kept her with her grandmother. Morgana wondered why she didn't hate her brother and took the possibility to be free in the new regime with Morgause on the throne.

Surely she, herself, would have felt different. Morgana knew very well, how it felt to be betrayed by those you loved. The situation was not quite the same, but yet... the similarities were striking enough for her to linger on her own memories for one moment – one moment to long. The bitter feeling came back, bitter as the poison Merlin had given her.

Merlin... The witch nearly sighed when she thought of him. Still she remembered the tender touch of his lips in her dream. It confused her and she wasn't used to being confused anymore. Morgause had given her security. She had been sure of herself and of her goals and now there was this stupid dream about Merlin and herself and a kiss, that had confused her utterly.

She still hated Merlin for what he had done to her. And still she didn't know why he had tried to poison her. Had he always hated her? Had he always wanted to see her dead? But even if it had been like that, she still asked herself, why he had chosen this exact moment to kill her. Camelot was dying and he thought of nothing else, than poisoning her? Somehow that didn't sound like the Merlin she knew.

Yet it seemed she had not known him at all.

Ansley, that little rat, had noticed her occupation of mind and began with his usual attempts to do some boot-licking on her. "What is it, my queen? May I satisfy a wish of yours to release you from your dark thoughts?", he purred. Morgana turned away disgustedly. "I ain't your queen.", she corrected him harshly, before she left the room abruptly.

She was to visit her sister again, as she did so often, although there never was a change in Morgauses condition. But the quiet in the queens chambers gave her the opportunity to think about things. And it awakened her desire for revenge again... She still didn't know who had done that to her sister, but when she found out, she would kill that person in a very displeasing way to be sure.

Again the Lady Morgana asked herself who the culprit was. There had been no more than three persons in the room: this man, who had once come to Camelot to become a knight and whose name she had forgotten, Gaius and Merlin. In none of them, safe Gaius, she had sensed magic, and the old physician wasn't strong enough to do that to a high priestess of the Old Religion. Morgause had shown her how to open her mind and feel magic around her, which also included magic in other people. She was quite good in it so there had to have been another person in the room.

If she found that other person, he or she would wish he'd never been born.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: **Woohoo, next chapter! Yes, we're slowly getting to the main plot. ^^ Hope you have fun reading.

**Chapter 4**

Merlin was humming. He had catched a tune in the morning, when he had entered the palace walking past a bard, who had been sitting on the steps to the castle. He had annoyed Arthur all morning with the melody, although he had not set out to do so (well, at least not very seriously), and now the prince had sent him away to get some water. Arthur was obviously getting thirsty by shouting at his manservant.

Nevertheless the warlock was in very good humor, when he was suddenly drawn into an alcove next to the corridor. In shock he stared at the familiar face in front of him, a face he had not thought to see here. "Meg?", she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" The blond-haired girl in front of him smiled widely at the surprise she saw in his face. "It's good to see you too.", she answered calmly ans still very happily.

Slowly Merlin placed the cup of water in his hands on the window sill and then hugged his friend with a slightly deranged look on his face. The last time he had seen Meg he had taken leave of Ealdor. "How come you're here?", he asked again taking some distance to look at her. She was not altered. Her wide smile, her high, but pleasant voice, that always reminded him of a little bird, her long, light blonde hair, her blue, slightly greenish eyes, her tiny, yet womanly figure – all this was the same. Only at the second look he noticed her finespun dress, which was obviously a bit pricier than what her family had been able to afford, when they had last met.

Megs smile meanwhile faded a bit, when she began to answer his question. "A few months after you left, father died.", she began and was interrupted by Merlin, when he expressed his sorrow. He had liked old Jim Dove, but he didn't linger on that and allowed Meg to narrate her story to the end. "Mother, Alric and me then went to her brother in Powys. It was quite a long journey, but Uncle Henry was able to provide us all with work in the castle." Proudly she added: "Now I'm the maid of the princess Rowenna. She has brought us here with her, you know."

Merlin hesitated for a moment, then he asked: "So your mother is here with you?" That was, what he hoped actually, but he was disappointed. "Oh no", Meg laughed, "it's Alric. He should be somewhere in the stables right now." As if they'd like to met... Merlin, for his part, didn't have such a desire. And he tried to express that diplomatically.

Meg seemed to understand him very well and grinned again. "But now tell me, how did you fare?", she asked, while a knight in armor passed the alcove hastily. And Merlin told her about it roughly. What he didn't narrate to her where all the magical adventures he had had, as she'd only worry about him then and it wasn't to smart to speak about that in the midst of Camelot as well.

They were interrupted by a loud voice, the young warlock knew very well. "Merlin! Merlin!", Arthur shouted. "Um, that's me.", Merlin said to Meg, sighing. "I'll better go and see what he wants." The prince was striding along the corridor, when his manservant stepped out of the alcove. "Where have you been?", he asked angrily, although the answer to that question was quite obvious. "Come on now!"

And Merlin followed Arthur, leaving Meg behind waving with a grin. His prince was blustering in the meanwhile. "You're the most lazy servant I know. Dunno why I didn't fire you long ago." The servant answered, although there was a tone of hopelessness in his voice: "Maybe because you like me?" - "Oh, dream on, Merlin!"

When they were leaving the castle behind and entered into the city below, Merlin finally asked something, he had wanted to know all the time. "Where are we going, by the way?", he said. The reply left him shocked. "We", answered Arthur, "are going to do some shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Well yes, Merlin, that's what I said, didn't I?"

Prince and servant ended up in a jewelers shop. It was obviously a man, who did his job very very good and demanded – accordingly – quite impressive prices for his creations. While Arthur described the man a ring, he wanted to have made, Merlins grin grew brighter and brighter. And when they finally left the shop again, Arthur was so much annoyed by this, that he rudely said: "Don't look so damn pleased, you idiot."

Their next few steps were made in silence. Then Merlin inquired: "It's for Gwen, isn't it?" His prince glared at him and then declared: "That is not your business, Merlin." The manservant grinned even more broadly. They were walking a short distance in silence again.

"Why did we have to go down to the city? You could have summoned the man to the castle.", Merlin inquired.

"Because she would have heard of it, isn't that obvious?"

"So it is for Gwen?"

"Shut up, Merlin.", Arthur roared, instead of paying attention to the people in the streets, who looked at him with big eyes. The prince regent in their street!

"And – given all the people staring at you – you suppose she won't find out, that you've been in the city this afternoon? In the shop of a jeweler?"

"Shut up, Merlin!", the prince murmured. He was even more angry now, because he had not thought of this weak point in his plan before.

After a moment, Merlin said: "So you want to marry Gwen?"

"That's not your business!" Arthur was near yelling now.

"But it's wonderful!", Merlin exclaimed. "And, let's be honest, it's practically everyones business. Your wife will be the next queen after all."

Arthur ordered him to be quiet once again and this time Merlin obeyed. Something in his friends voice was different this time and he thought, he had spotted a weak point.

So they made their way back to the castle in silence. Just as they were going along the corridor to Arthurs chambers, Sir Leon met them. He bowed to the prince regent and then said: "I've searched for you, mylord. There are... news." Something about the way he pronounced the last words made Arthur and his servant follow him to the throne room immediately.

The old table they had found in that abandoned castle of the old kings was placed there now, but as it was by far not big enough for all the knights of Camelot, their prince had instructed the carpenters of the city to build a much bigger version. This version was not yet ready though and so the eight or nine men had to stand around for the greatest part. Among them were Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival and Elyan, as well as some of the "old" knights, those with noble lineage and far too much pride. They were standing around separated into two groups and for one moment Merlin doubted, that they would ever be one.

But of course they would. They would all follow Arthur and fulfill their destiny. The young warlock felt the pride about it rising in his chest as he watched his prince approaching the knights.

"So, what is the matter.", Arthur murmured, apparently not so pleased about the fact, that everyone but him had been here in time. He was the regent after all.

Sir Leon, as his second in command, began to speak:

"While you were absent a man has knocked on the doors of the castle and asked for an audience with you.", he said, when he was interrupted by his eyebow-raising prince. "So then why this meeting? I still don't see the sense in it."

Sir Leon focused his glance on Arthur and mildly explained: "Because the man talked about some great sorcerer, whom, he said, had sent him." The knight pointed on an object lying on the Round Table. "He brought this with him."

The object turned out to be an envelope, a bit rugged by the journey but not too dirty. It had been treated with care by its messenger. Arthur acted differently nonetheless. His face had clouded itself when he heard the words "great sorcerer" and now it was half-concealed concern. The letter, which he took out of the envelope, read and then gave to Sir Leon who passed it around to the other knights and eventually even to Merlin, read as follows:

_To Arthur Pendragon,_

_current regent of Camelot_

_A new force rises on the horizon, a force mightier and more determined, than everything you have faced before. I am this force._

_My arrival has been foretold by many a seer. I possess more magic than any other human, may he be alive or already death or still unborn. I am the greatest sorcerer of all time. There is now way to resist me._

_It would be wise to lay down your weapons and give in to me. If you won't do that I will wipe you from the countenance of the earth._

_Do not make the error to underestimate me. My arrival and my triumph have been foretold. There is no way you can escape your downfall, if you do not yield to me._

_I will unite Albion and defeat everyone who stands up against this goal and my mastery._

_Fear me. Fear my name._

_I am Emrys._

Morgana stared at the letter in her hand. It's contents were the same as the ones of the letter, Arthur had received, save the address at the top. There it read: _To Morgana Pendragon, current regent of Escetia_. But apart from that the two letters were exactly the same, although their receivers didn't know that.

The Lady Morgana hissed and threw down the paper angrily. Ansley, who had been sitting on the steps to the throne some steps away from her, grabbed it and threw a submissive look at her. "May I read it?", asked he, but she forbid it and stretched out her hand for him to give her the piece of paper back. He did so with a somewhat disappointed look, but without any sign of resistance. _He really is a despicable little creature_, she thought.

Morgana called for one of the maids and ordered her to bring her a bowl with clear, cold water. Then she sent Ansley away, who – again – looked disappointed, but did not object. Shortly afterward, when she had seated herself at a little table by the window, the servant girl reappeared an brought her the bowl. She had already turned to leave, when her lady called her back.

"Did you ever her the name of 'Emrys'?", the regent asked, following a sudden impulse. The maid bowed and answered, clearly daunted by her appearance and rank. "I have heard a legend about Emrys, mylady. Everyone here has." Morgana frowned. _So why didn't I?_, she asked herself rather angrily. For she had never heard that name until this day.

But for... No, she did not remember it, but for one fuzzy memory, she couldn't quite grasp. Something her mother had sad long ago, a story about a person named Emrys. "What is this legend about?", she asked the maid, before she could loose herself in her remembrances.

"It is more a prophecy really.", the girl answered, slowly becoming bolder. "It is about a sorcerer, who is named Emrys. He is the greatest sorcerer of all time and it is said, that he will unite Albion under a great king, a king so great, that his name will never be forgotten." Morgana sent her away.

That explained why she had never heard anything of this prophecy when she was at Camelot. Uther had never been very keen on any stories, in which sorcerers did any good or even won. And now this Emrys had appeared – or at least someone had appeared, who called himself like that and wanted to make everybody believe, that he was the prophesied.

Interesting.

With a sigh Morgana cleared her mind and mumbled a spell, while she held her hand over the water. Soon her spirit was wandering, searching for this Emrys, the one who had sent her that letter. She wouldn't believe, that he was some great sorcerer, until she had seen him and had felt his power with her own senses. But she couldn't find him with her mind, as if he had hidden himself. And he had done so masterly.

That was even more interesting. But it was also very annoying.

**AN:** Do you see the little button right under this? It reads 'Review this story', doesn't it? And we all know, that one should obey little, inconspicuous-looking buttons, don't we? So please review and tell me what you think. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** I admit, this seems like a pretty pointless chapter, even to me... You see my muse for this story still enjoys her holidays, so I am quite alone *sniff. Still I'm sorry, that I made you wait for so long (supposing you still wait). I hope you like this chapter though and give me some reviews. I love reviews, you know?

**Chapter 5**

Gwaine was, in fact, leaving the counsel. After all he was a very important man now – as Arthurs 'second-in-command'. The knight snorted. As if! As if there was any difference between an attorney, which was the position Sir Leon held, and a 'second-in-command'. Of course he had only been appointed, because Arthur hardly would have said: "And this is Sir Gwaine, some random knight, but I just couldn't come up with someone more important to greet you, so let's get some tea, will you?" Still Gwaine stubbornly believed, that this was a conspiracy founded to fulfill the designation of forcing him to take some responsibility.

While he pondered over the way all the world had conspired to make him settle down, rather than about the new threat for Camelot – the letter sounded far too florid to be taken seriously in his opinion and after all Arthur and Merlin had defeated every other magical threat too – Gwaine obviously didn't watch his way.

He wasn't the only one. When he bounced into something hard it was plain obvious, that the 'something' was a person. So he made a step back and grinned, while he opened his mouth to apologize. Unfortunately he had bumped into the very one person he had not wanted to meet. Still she had an extraordinary effect on him: his grin vanished and the words didn't seem to have any inclination of coming out of his mouth.

Rowenna raised an eyebrow. "I see you have a problem with greetings now, as well as with goodbyes.", she said and added, with a bitter undertone: "You are a man of surprises, as it seems."

Meanwhile Gwaine held his hands up in defiance. He felt quite unwell under the lasting stare of these furious green eyes and so he came up with the best he was able to come up with in the moment, which was not very inventive, but still... He said: "I can explain!" It was only then, that he thought about the way, he would explain.

The princess of Powys raised her eyebrow even higher (if that was possible, maybe it was just his imagination). "I am sure you can.", she answered sarcastically and now the newly-made knight felt, that his honour was under attack. "I can!", he stated. That apparently got the princess furious. "Yes, I know you can!", she cried, causing a passing courtier to get away much faster. "But I do not want to hear, as ALL YOU EVER TELL IS LIES!"

And with that she turned around and left the way she had been coming. _Now she's the one having a problem with goodbyes._, the knight thought huffily, but he wisely did not say anything about it, supposing that Rowenna may come back then and ask him, how exactly he would explain and that he still had to work out.

Arthur sat at his desk, a blank paper lying in front of him. Merlin bustled behind him, doing chores he normally never did (partly because they were as good as non-existant) and gazing at the paper as often as possible. Which was why he was doing all that in the first place.

The prince growled at him. "Merlin, leave!", he ordered. His manservant flinched, but he answered with his usual cheerfulness, when he said: "You are the one, who always says, that I'm not payed for being lazy. And now you don't let me doing my chores." He actually managed to sound offended, regardless of his real feelings.

And he felt quite a lot. The message, that some sorcerer would be attacking the city had been a shock, but well, things like that had to be expected. Sometimes he wondered, how Arthur had managed to stay alive, before he had reached Camelot. What had shocked him, was that the sorcerer called himself Emrys. Although he had never quite related to that name he felt offended, that somebody used it to fight against Arthur. The villain of the day clearly had not apprehended the prophecy in its full extent.

Also the message filled him with anxiety for the future. How could he ever reveal his destiny to Arthur, when the prince fought against an Emrys now and against his claim to rule Albion. How would he ever be able to explain Arthur, that he was destined to make the same claim?

So he was anxious to see, how Arthur would deal with this problem. He had followed him, when his prince had restrained to his room and he had been trying to look busy in the background, while Arthur worked on a message for Emrys' sorcerer to carry back. It seemed that such an answer was quite important for the old knights and Arthur himself, because otherwise they would have acted unchivalrous, while Gwaine had been proposing something along the lines of: "Message your ass and let's get all the soldiers there are, so we can kick this Emrys into his magical backside!" Merlin had approved of that very much, but Arthur insisted on the message, whose content Merlin was quite anxious on.

"Leave!", Arthur insisted. "I cannot write this damn thing, while you look over my shoulder the whole time!" Merlin knew, that fatigue and stress spoke of his prince, but he still felt offended, when he finally left the room and strolled through the castle in order to think about the man who had apparently stolen his name.

He didn't even dare to ask himself the most dreadful question there was: had Kilgarrah been wrong? Had everything he had done these three years – protecting Arthur, Camelot and even Uther – been wrong? The young warlock shuddered, but he was awaken out of his sinister thoughts by a loud cry. Something along the lines of "LIES!"

Around the next corner he met Gwaine who stood there a bit sheepishly. "Um... What's wrong?", he answered cautiously. "Something about a woman?", Merlin supposed, as he was quite sure, that it had not been the knight, who had been screaming (for that he would have had experiencing a nasty breaking of the voice). His friend turned around and somehow managed to produce a broad grin. "You're right about that, mate.", Gwaine answered and added: "I need an ale now, I think. You care to join me?" And somehow Merlin cared very much about that. Forgetting his sinister thoughts about destiny, evil sorcerers as well as his dreams about Morgana and having a little fun with Gwaine seemed to be a very good idea. And on the way he could get some explanations about the screaming woman...

Once again Morgana sat at the bed of her sister, thinking about what to do with this Emrys. Here she could finally retreat from the hectic of what she called her court in the moment. While of course it was a mess. The people would not yield to her, the nobles buckled, but searched for a way to throw her down all the time... Sometimes the witch felt, as if everything was hopeless.

Sighing she pressed Morgauses hand one last time and then stood up to face the dreads of the day once again. Just as she had turned around, she heard a voice whisper her name. At first she thought, that she was wrong, that she had imagined it, that it was a hallucination of her fatigued mind, but nonetheless she turned around and looked straight into the beautiful brown eyes of her sister.

"Morgana..."


End file.
